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[OOC] What Thou Seest is action! Raph is up, followed by Janus, Richard, and Nicola

It's been probably 15 years since I've DM'ed a game, but I'm getting hit by the bug pretty hard. That's where you (maybe) come in: I'd like to gauge interest in a game I've got brewing, for which I'll require five noble (or at least profit-minded) adventurers.

Before you decide whether or not you're interested, let me mention a few things about the game setting, as it differs in flavor from the base 4e gameworld, and in particular introduces some restrictions that may not be everyone's cup of tea.

This is (at least for now) a low-magic game, set in a world with a technology level approximately on par with Europe of the Dark Ages. What does this mean for you? Well, let me give some concrete examples.

-First, and importantly, at the start of the game, players will be limited to human characters only (and no, drow do not count as humans). Players may have a chance to introduce non-human characters later, depending on how the story goes.

-Second, and of equal importance, personal magic use is extremely rare, and is, by and large, seen as witchcraft by most people. You could probably get away with using limited Divine magic around populated settlements without upsetting too many people, but Arcane magic (and, in particular, warlock powers)? Not a chance: You'll be feared and shunned at best, persecuted at worst. That does not mean that your character may not be an Arcane caster: by all means, go for it. It just means that you'll have to be careful about the secrets you share, and with whom.

-Third, also important: instead of the pantheon of gods set forth in the 4e core materials, the world in which this game is set recognizes a dualistic pantheon similar to that of the Abrahamic religions in our world â€“ i.e., one god who's mostly good, one god who's mostly bad, and a panoply of angels and demons to carry out their works in the mortal world. That does not necessarily mean that players who worship the "good" god need be of good alignment: just as in the real world, worshippers come in all stripes (although a good-aligned character probably would not worship the "bad" god without a really solid IC reaon).

-Fourth, some items in the PHB and Adventurers Vault will not be available to the players, at least at creation. Off the top of my head: No crossbows of any sort, rapiers, shuriken, katars, parrying daggers, kukri, tratnyr, craghammer, khopesh, greatbow, mordenkrad, urgrosh, double axe, or double sword. No plate or scale armor. No sunrods or everburning torches. I reserve the right to disallow other items as my dictatorial whim strikes.

-Fifth, some brief flavor text: you'll be starting out in a medium-sized free town named Santo, which is ruled by a body of aldermen elected by the town's property owners (in practice, the two bodies â€“ i.e., property owners and aldermen â€“ overlap extensively). Santo is located several days inland to the east from a larger territory called the Duchy of the Two Islands. The ruler of the Duchy, Duke Brant, has recently seized power after a brief war of succession, and has already proven to be militaristic, waging a successful campaign to retake a town that broke away from the Duchy during the war of succession. The Duchy is, in turn, a subdivision of a still-larger conglomeration of duchies named the Sunset Kingdom, but the King's seat of power is far to the south, and his reach extends this far north in name only. The mood is grim in Santo: people are speculating as to whether (if not when) Duke Brant will turn his gaze this way; instances of witchcraft, once rare, have been reported (and punished) with increasing frequency; and some travelers have even reported being attacked by foul, unnatural beasts of a like they had never seen before. The town aldermen have recently put out word that they will reward anyone who can bring them more substantive signs of these beasts.

Administrivia: This will be a PbP game, and we'll shoot for at least one post per day. Anything crunchy (most particularly combat) I'll be posting during the evening, EST, as my employer would probably not look kindly on me dicking around with GIMP at work. Due to the nature of my work, I on occasion have to work long hours or weekends; if so, I'll let you know as soon as possible. Character sheets will be on Mythweavers. Dice rolls will be with Invisible Castle.

If you're still interested despite all of my killjoy rules, please post a character sheet, as well as your character's IC background; please also note whether you're currently playing in another PbP game. The selection method will NOT be first-come-first-served; rather, I'll be selecting players based on the quality of their IC posts, with tiebreakers going to those players who are not currently in another game, concerns of party makeup, and whatever other arbitrary factors strike my fancy. If all goes well, I'll be selecting the party by the end of this coming weekend, with a game thread to start shortly thereafter.

Posts

Just a word of caution: "low-magic" can lead to a slippery slope where the PC's don't have enough bonuses to overcome the defenses of level-appropriate opponents. I would also consider allowing scale armor, as it is just about as old as chainmail.

You should also consider renaming the Divine Channel feats with appropriate angelic/saintly names or throwing them out and creating your own.
(Ex. Melora's Tide -> Tide of St. Nicholas)

Good luck with the game, though. Sounds like it could be fun.

EVE: Online - the most fun you will ever have not playing a game.
"Go up, thou bald head." -2 Kings 2:23

Question: Beyond the limitations you stated in the OP, is this an otherwise traditional D&D world? Elves, Kobolds, Dragons, Undead etc?
Do Humans know about the above or are they more like legends and stories from the crazy town drunk?

Question: Beyond the limitations you stated in the OP, is this an otherwise traditional D&D world? Elves, Kobolds, Dragons, Undead etc?
Do Humans know about the above or are they more like legends and stories from the crazy town drunk?

Color me interested, in any case.

Since time immemorial, humankind has believed in fantastic creatures -- including all of those you mentioned -- but proof has been hard to come by. So, while it is an article of faith that these creatures exist, any who claimed to have actually seen any such creatures have been considered insane, addled, or simply mistaken, just as you put it. But lately, normally reliable people have been reporting seeing -- and, in some cases, being attacked by -- unnatural monsters. Creatures with the face of a dog, but who walk upright and wield sword and bow, like a man. Creatures that resemble humans in size and shape, but with twisted, demonic features. And creatures more unimaginable still.

You've heard about the problem in the area near Santo, but the problem has not been strictly localized. Several outlying settlements within the Duchy of the Two Islands have reported being attacked, and some strange power has occupied an ancient tower standing on the Outer Island itself. Similar stories have been heard from as far south as the Sunset City and as far north as Greyport.

Of course, as with every problem, there's an opportunity here: the aldermen of Santo are so worried about the problem that they've offered generous rewards for more substantive information about these creatures, and you'd imagine that similar rewards have been offered elsewhere, as well.

I'm interested, thinking of rolling a Star Pact Warlock (hohoho the risky route), but I do have some questions. What are your thoughts on the fact that even the Martial class powers err on the side of the fantastical? Fighters, Rangers, and Rogues all do some pretty physically improbable shit. Does super martial prowess not clash with the setting as bad as high magic or...?

The idea of low magic 4th Edition is a little alien so this is hard to get a handle on.

Alright so basically what you're doing here is like daring me to draw up a warlock. So in that regard I has question.

Re: Warlock's Curse and Pact Boon.

I am assuming that this isn't an "obvious" effect, much like sneak attack and hunter's quarry, the other equivalent striker class features. F'rinstance an infernal pact warlock might curse his opponent literally: "may the Devil take you," "Damnation" or "to Hell with you" and gain the mechanical benefits of the curse as stated in ye PHB. Am I correct in my thinking here?

I'm interested, thinking of rolling a Star Pact Warlock (hohoho the risky route), but I do have some questions. What are your thoughts on the fact that even the Martial class powers err on the side of the fantastical? Fighters, Rangers, and Rogues all do some pretty physically improbable shit. Does super martial prowess not clash with the setting as bad as high magic or...?

A couple of points: First, without tipping my hand too much, the low magic thing is something that I foresee hitting the players substantively in the first 4-5 levels or so, but to a lesser degree after that. Second, as to your question specifically, no, the martial characters' abilities don't bother me as much from a flavor perspective as do magical abilities. The feel of the world (or at least, that part of the world of which the players are aware) is loosely based on Europe in the Dark Ages. Prior to and during that time, the concept of the heroic warrior, capable of supernatural feats, was fairly common and looked upon favorably; e.g., Gilgamesh, Sampson, David, Hector, Achilles, Charles Martel, Roland, El Cid. In comparison, wizards were thought of as considerably less common, and often seen as being evil or at least inscrutable; e.g., Merlin, Morgan le Fay, Circe, the witch Carman. So in my superstitious, low magic world, it's more common and less suspicious for people to exhibit extraordinary martial prowess.

The idea of low magic 4th Edition is a little alien so this is hard to get a handle on.

As others have pointed out in the main D&D thread, there are probably better RPG systems for running a low magic game. On the other hand, I own the D&D books and know the system, and those are powerful incentives to sticking with D&D

Alright so basically what you're doing here is like daring me to draw up a warlock. So in that regard I has question.

Re: Warlock's Curse and Pact Boon.

I am assuming that this isn't an "obvious" effect, much like sneak attack and hunter's quarry, the other equivalent striker class features. F'rinstance an infernal pact warlock might curse his opponent literally: "may the Devil take you," "Damnation" or "to Hell with you" and gain the mechanical benefits of the curse as stated in ye PHB. Am I correct in my thinking here?

That's what I was thinking. But, if said warlock were to then, say, call upon his infernal powers to cause a dark, sulphurous talon to congeal from thin air, damaging the warlock's enemy and dragging him along the ground (diabolic grasp), or cause the warlock to disappear from the enemy's sight (eyebite)...well, that's a little more obvious.

Scam before stealing, steal before lying, lie before begging, beg before running, run before fighting, fight before submitting, submit before (God forbid) actually working for a living.

The lives of sneak-thieves and con-artists are composed of deceptively simple principles, usually uncomplicated by politics or religion. Most are just trying to survive by feigning expertise in all manner of unlikely talents. Janus Portent has the distinction of being a charlatan in more of these than most in his "profession".

Furtive hands, tarot cards, lock-picks, well-hidden daggers -- and most importantly -- a silver tongue are the tools of the trade. Though none of these things may make him particularly extraordinary, Janus' common "scoundrelry" does not betray his true talent: the knowledge of the stars. His one genuine trade is in seeing the connections between the mysterious firmament and the material world.

The connection of the stars to the Earth and its denizens is very real... and very powerful. The sort of power that one does not make obvious to others for a variety of reasons. It is actually better to be frowned upon by priests and magistrates condemning the practices of common divination... one must be careful not actually become useful to them.

All that said, there is some advice for travelers: When you see a dark-haired man perched behind a barrel that has "Portent's Portents" painted on the side... better to take another street.

There are active and reactive people in this world. Those who strive to make their mark on the world, and those who let life happen to them. For most of Klaus' life, he has fallen into the latter category. Born to the poorer side of Santo he has never really had any true ambitions. He likes things simple and orderly, which is why he's spent his adult life as a bouncer keeping the peace at the local tavern. Very occasionally him and his mates have expanded his role to a sort of neighborhood watchmen. Klaus has been known to pummel the occasional thief and troublemaker. For the most part though, his life has been unremarkable. Nice and simple.

Quite unlike his elder brother. Warren was ever the idealist, and naturally took to the ranks of the Town Guard. Respected and admired by his younger brother, it was natural that the death of Warren came as something of a blow. Sent along with a merchant caravan bound for one of Santo's neighboring towns, as insurance in light of the recent attacks by supposed "creatures". None survived of that caravan, the corpses were found mauled and rent apart as though by wild beasts. Pack animals gone, goods destroyed.

Now, there is no anger. No tears. Klaus has never been one for dramatics. He is however filled with a quiet understanding that he must do something. Out of filial loyalty, he has volunteered to join those who seek answers.

Sounds interesting, seems like a natural fit for somebody like a ranger.

I'd be interested, just to see how you would modify the world for little magic will be interesting.

If this works let me know: (a tenuous idea at best)

Richard Swiftfoot

Unaligned Ranger (Lvl 1)

A scout in a king's army from far away where Richard excelled in tracking and guerrilla tactics. After a falling out with the king he was forced out of the kingdom on threat of his life. Word is the king's daughter was involved, as well as forbidden meetings with the phantoms whom haunt the forests (Elves?). He has taken up residence in town plying his unique trade for money. A quiet, intense man, quick with a sword, and brutally efficient at his trade.

Also, I'm not currently in any other game, and have only played once before, so if you don't want a newb, no bid deal.

We'll be needing a healer to, so I suppose I should ask, what's your stance on healing?

I know that in the Dark Ages the church was above all, it's no stretch to consider that priests may have miracle healing powers through the direct intervention of god, at least in that time period.

Generally speaking, the populace has no problem with divine magic. To the people of this world, neither God nor The Enemy are distant abstractions; they intervene actively in the affairs of humans, either directly (as in the case of answered prayers, such as prayers for healing), or by proxy, through their angelic or demonic armies.

That said, the people are still a bunch of superstitious bastards, and if you look funny to them, or if they don't know you, or if a two-headed calf was born three years previous on this date, or if it's just been a while since they had a good old-fashioned witch burning, well...

So are there people worshiping the bad god ? Are devil worshipers more common in this world ?

Common? Well, no one would admit to worshipping The Enemy in public, unless they were really hankering to be burned at the stake or stoned to death. But it is widely believed that agents of The Enemy walk among the people, and are more numerous than many would like to believe.

Witches? Oh, heavens no. We astrologers merely plumb the celestial depths in search of the mysteries of the Creator.

(Bluff Check +8)

also i'm assuming standard character creation rules with 22pt buy?

also: will player options from Martial Power, other books, or Dragon/Dungeon be available on a DM-approval basis, or are they just right out from the start?

Doh, sorry, should have mentioned that stuff in the OP.

First: yes, standard 22 point buy.

Second: Other than the race and item restrictions I mentioned above (though again, the list of disallowed items is provisional and may be subject to change), anything from released sourcebooks (Martial Power, Adventurer's Vault, FR Player Guide) is fine. As for Dragon/Dungeon, please run it by me first. I've been pleasantly surprised at the low munchkin quotient of Dragon material so far, but I'd still like to keep an eye on it.

edit: Also, for obvious reasons, the character backgrounds in the FR player guide are out.

Second: Other than the race and item restrictions I mentioned above (though again, the list of disallowed items is provisional and may be subject to change), anything from released sourcebooks (Martial Power, Adventurer's Vault, FR Player Guide) is fine. As for Dragon/Dungeon, please run it by me first. I've been pleasantly surprised at the low munchkin quotient of Dragon material so far, but I'd still like to keep an eye on it.

edit: Also, for obvious reasons, the character backgrounds in the FR player guide are out.

So what you're telling me is that I can make a sweet ranger beastmaster....

Second: Other than the race and item restrictions I mentioned above (though again, the list of disallowed items is provisional and may be subject to change), anything from released sourcebooks (Martial Power, Adventurer's Vault, FR Player Guide) is fine. As for Dragon/Dungeon, please run it by me first. I've been pleasantly surprised at the low munchkin quotient of Dragon material so far, but I'd still like to keep an eye on it.

edit: Also, for obvious reasons, the character backgrounds in the FR player guide are out.

So what you're telling me is that I can make a sweet ranger beastmaster....

Yup, that'd be fine, although no fantastical creatures, please. I.e., no giant spiders or drakes or anything like that.

Here I'm actually going to engage in a fair amount of hand-waving and "because I say so"-ing. The PCs start off speaking common, and I think of common as being a sort of ur-language -- common is common is common; it doesn't matter where you go. Forgotten Realms common is the same as Greyhawk common is the same as Eberron common is the same as common in my world. It's also ubiquitous enough that nonhuman creatures may speak it, just as they do in those other worlds.

It's not a particularly elegant solution, and I may revisit it at some point to add some complexity if that proves desirable, but for now it's at least workable.

Being that it's based in a "Spanish" town in "Europe", I would suggest Common be "Espanza" or some language named along those lines. PC's would either be native, thus speaking it as their regular language, or they would be foreigners that use their bonus language to learn it so that they can operate in the area without difficulty.

For natives, perhaps they could choose as their bonus language one of the neighboring countries' languages (Parsian? Ramona? Kriegspiel? Ænglican? w/e), or Supernal (i.e. Latin). Foreigners obviously would choose one of the regional languages as their primary.

EVE: Online - the most fun you will ever have not playing a game.
"Go up, thou bald head." -2 Kings 2:23

I'd rework the personality/backstory a bit to be less Terry Pratchety, but the stats would be the same.

Also, are you shooting for more skills/roleplaying than the D&D system usually generates?

Ie 'You see a banner of a white and red checked field with a lion rampant.'

'Hmm, Al will roll Heraldry to see if he recognizes what Lord those colors belong to'.

PS: I am PST.

Helix: the character would be fine, but yeah, less Pratchett would be great

As far as skills/roleplaying -- as I have it laid out (assuming the players want to go down this path) there will be "modules" later on in the campaign that involve a lot of diplomacy/espionage/general skullduggery and relatively little combat. And, of course, if the players are amenable, I'm happy to add more of that sort of thing to the game.

Work seems pretty quiet today, but before I really start working on the biography and concept I'd just like to clarify a couple of things.

I was curious about the name of the good/bad gods, and if worship of the bad god was generally outlawed.

The good god is just "God," and the bad god has many names, but is normally just called "The Enemy." And yeah, in most places, public worship of The Enemy is the sort of thing that gets you burned at the stake.

With regards to crime and punishment, as this is based off of the middle ages I am assuming things like executions and brandings were used to punish crimes?

I got hit hard by some kind of bug that's going around work. I'm going to go home and sleep for a while, and may not be super-speedy about responding to questions/concerns. So if you ask a question and it takes me a while to answer, please don't assume that I'm ignoring you, or that I've lost interest in this game.

I'm still hoping to get the campaign started by early next week, but that may slip a day or two as well.

Tell me about the Church. Is there one? Are there multiple competing churches with different visions of how to execute God's will? Will I be penalized for burning PCs at the stake?

One last answer before I go

There is a church, but, due to the relative difficulty of travel in this part of the world (due to weather, bandits, poor roads, etc.), it's largely decentralized. Large towns (including the Two Islands, the Sunset City, and Greyport) have sitting bishops presiding from cathedrals (cathedrals in the sense that they're the seat of a diocesan bishop, not necessarily in the sense that they're huge buildings with big windows, etc., although they may be that too). Smaller towns will have a parochial church whose pastor answers at least in theory to a bishop. Again, due to the difficulty in travel, it's hard for the bishops to effectively impose too much day-to-day control over the parishes. Parish priests who do go too far off the reservation, though, will eventually be reined in by the diocesan authorities. So localized variants on church doctrine may exist, but more pronounced differences are labeled heresies and stamped out. There are no competing churches in the sense that they existed in post-Reformation Europe.

As for whether you'll be penalized for burning PCs at the stake -- the other PCs might not take too kindly to it